Oceanic Buoy Monitors Sea Apartment Conditions
A new floating ocean sensor, designed to monitor local ocean conditions, has been created on the island of Maui. This innovative device includes a one-wire temperature sensor, a DF Robot turbidity sensor, an MPU6050 gyroscope and accelerometer, and a Xiao ESP32-S3 microcontroller for its operations.
The sensors allow the device to measure the water's condition and the motion of the waves, providing valuable data for researchers and the local community. The sensor is housed in a 3D printed casing, with the rest of the electronics enclosed in a waterproof Pelican case. A Wio-SX1262 radio kit is paired with the microcontroller to send LoRa signals, enabling data collection and transmission.
The idea of citizen science ocean sensor projects is not new, and there are successful examples of similar initiatives. One such project is the Participatory Ocean Color Network (POCN), a citizen science project funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. POCN distributes mini- and midi-Secchi disks (simple optical sensors for water clarity and color) to thousands of participants across 22 US coastal cities, collecting in situ water quality data that supports satellite ocean color missions like SeaHawk-HawkEye CubeSat.
NASA's Citizen Science for Earth System Program (CSESP) also funds projects using citizen science with calibrated, low-cost sensors for various environmental measurements, including physical oceanography. While these projects cover broad topics, several include ocean sensing components relevant to citizen-deployed ocean sensors.
Another example is the Acoustic Monitoring of Whales and Dolphins in Cook Strait, a project that uses autonomous acoustic sensors deployed in the ocean to collect data on marine mammals. Although this project is not exactly the same type of sensor as floating ocean sensors, it demonstrates the feasibility of sensor deployments in ocean environments.
The data collected by the Rabbitcreek floating ocean sensor could be even more valuable with a network of such sensors. If you're involved in your own ocean science project, feel free to share it on the tipsline. Similar citizen science projects have been executed effectively in the past, and your contribution could help advance our understanding of the ocean even further.
References: - POCN and Secchi Disk citizen science projects in coastal water optical monitoring[1] - NASA CSESP funded citizen science projects including ocean sensors[2] - Acoustic sensor monitoring of marine mammals in New Zealand’s coastal waters[3]
The sensor, incorporating a Xiao ESP32-S3 microcontroller and various sensors like one-wire temperature, DF Robot turbidity, MPU6050 gyroscope, and accelerometer, can send LoRa signals via a Wio-SX1262 radio kit, utilizing technology to collect and transmit data about the ocean's conditions and wave motion. This valuable data can aid researchers and the community, mirroring the goals of other successful ocean science projects, such as NASA's Citizen Science for Earth System Program, which supports projects using low-cost sensors for environmental measurements, including ocean sensing.
